About 100 firefighters are battling a blaze in the former home of the BBC in London’s White City.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said 15 fire engines were in attendance at the nine-storey old BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane.
The flames are affecting floors towards the top of the building, which include a restaurant, an area of external decking and ducting, while an unknown number of flats have also potentially been affected.
Crews were first called to the blaze shortly after 3am. In an update at 8am, LFB said the restaurant, external decking and ducting remain alight.
LFB and the Metropolitan Police are working to evacuate nearby buildings as a precaution, with a rest centre being set up for those who had to leave their homes.
A resident who lives in converted flats in the old BBC building said: “I got woken up by my girlfriend at 3am, who was coming back from work – we could really smell the smoke, it was quite thick.
“We could see about 100 firefighters and at least eight or nine fire engines that were all parked up. I could just see a red glow.”
Li Mei, 36, who lives in an apartment block across the road, added: “I got up this morning and my partner told me to look out of the window.
“There was so much smoke – we were worried it was going to get worse.
The London Ambulance Service confirmed they treated one person at the scene.
A spokesperson added: “We were called at 3.13am today to reports of a fire on Wood Lane in White City.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and our hazardous area response team. We have treated one patient and discharged them at the scene.
“The incident is ongoing and we remain on scene as a precaution, working closely with our emergency services partners.”
Two 32-metre turntable ladders are being deployed as water towers to help extinguish the fire from height.
A drone team is also being used to give the incident commander a greater situational awareness of the fire, LFB said. Crews are expected to remain on the scene all day.
Footage from the scene shared by LFB shows smoke billowing from the former BBC building, now known as the Helios Building, which was the home of the broadcaster until 2012.
A spokesperson for Television Centre said: “Earlier this morning, a fire occurred in the Helios building at Television Centre in west London, which is now contained.
“We can confirm that residents and staff members were evacuated safely.
“We are hugely grateful to the London Fire Brigade for their swift response and to the Metropolitan Police for their support.
“We continue to work closely with the emergency services and local authorities to ensure the building is secure.”
Firefighters remained at the scene at 3pm. LFB said it is a “complex fire”, but they were “continuing to make steady progress”.
The website for the Helios Building says it currently accommodates 162 homes, along with a gym and a 47-bedroom hotel.
Wood Lane is closed to traffic and people are advised to avoid the area.
The brigade said first reports of the fire were received just after 3am, and crews from Hammersmith, North Kensington, Kensington, Chiswick and surrounding fire stations were mobilised to the scene.
The cause of the fire is not known.
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